Daily Business Review's Professional Excellence Awards 2019 held at the Rusty Pelican. Photo: J. Albert Diaz/ALM

Three veteran Florida litigators are finalists for the Daily Business Review's annual Attorney of the Year award for their work in vastly different areas.

Miami-Dade Public Defender Carlos Martinez coordinated a review of thousands of court files for clients convicted in Biscayne Park cases. The forensic mission was undertaken after the police chief and several subordinates were convicted of framing people to close unsolved cases for four years.

Sigrid McCawley of Boies Schiller Flexner took on the task of representing women who were abused by Jeffrey Epstein as children but were dismissed for years simply as unbelievable.

John Yanchunis of Morgan & Morgan has taken a place on the national class-action stage, notably in data breach cases, after helping engineer an $85 million settlement with Yahoo.

The top award winner will be announced at the DBR's annual Professional Excellence Awards event set for Oct. 7 at the Rusty Pelican in Miami. More than 70 honorees will be recognized for their work in litigation and transactions and as in-house counsel. New categories recognize attorneys for mentoring and social impact.

Normally a spring gathering, the event was postponed due to the public-distancing restrictions ordered in response to the coronavirus epidemic.

While we navigate these uncertain times, we want to focus attention on the positive work of Florida's legal community. It's easy to lose sight of the hard work accomplished by the state's legal professionals in 2019, and we want to shine a light on those achievements.

The events team is working hard to ensure the safety of our guests, and more information about the measures we are implementing will be communicated shortly.

Here are the honorees:

Attorney of the Year finalists

Carlos Martinez, Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office

Sigrid McCawley, Boies Schiller Flexner

John Yanchunis, Morgan & Morgan

 

Lifetime achievement 

Benjamine Reid, Carlton Fields

Barry Richard, Greenberg Traurig

Roberta Stanley, Brinkley Morgan

 

Distinguished leaders

Mitchell Berger, Berger Singerman

Barry Davidson, Hunton Andrews Kurth

Pedro Freyre, Akerman

Martin Goldberg, Lash Goldberg

Stuart Grossman, Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen

JoLinda Herring, Bryant Miller Olive

Yosbel Ibarra, Greenberg Traurig

Bob Kelley, Kelley|Uustal

Jay Kim, Kim Vaughan Lerner

Leslie Kroeger, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll

Mark Neuberger, Foley & Lardner

Robert Parks, The Law Offices of Robert L. Parks

Joseph Serota, Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman

Stuart Singer, Boies Schiller Flexner

Marty Steinberg, Hogan Lovells

Sidney Stubbs, Jones Foster

John Sumberg, Bilzin Sumberg

Jeffrey Tew, Rennert Vogel Mandler & Rodriguez

 

Best mentors 

Beth Alcalde, Akerman

Christopher Bellows, Holland & Knight

Jezabel Lima, Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman

Lori Hartglass, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr

Yolanda Cash Jackson, Becker & Poliakoff

 

Innovators

Avery Chapman, Equine Law Group

Josias Dewey, Holland & Knight

Michele DeStefano, LawWithoutWalls

 

Social impact

Mike Bedke, DLA Piper

Stanley Price, Bilzin Sumberg

 

Real estate transactions 

Greenberg Traurig

Nelson Mullins Broad and Cassel

Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr

 

In-house legal department

Department of the Year – Amex, Michelle Visiedo

Corporate Compliance – Corporate Creations, Frank Rodriguez

Diversity – Sony Pictures Television Latin America, Sira Veciana-Muino 

Community Service – Broward College, Lacey Hofmeyer

Solo – PAMM, Terry Vento

On the Rise – Mi9 Retail, Karina DuQuesne

13th Floor Investments, Dan Daley 

 

Litigation Departments

Departments of the Year: 

Bilzin Sumberg

Podhurst Orseck

 

Intellectual property: Agentis

Products Liability/Mass Torts: Schlesinger Law Offices

Labor and Employment: Bryant Miller Olive

Real Estate or other: Kluger Kaplan

 

On the Rise 

Todd Baker, Steinger Greene & Feiner

Steven Blickensderfer, Carlton Fields

Erin Bohannon, Kluger Kaplan

Kristen Corpion, CORPLaw

Andrea DeField, Hunton Andrews Kurth

Isabel Diaz, Holland & Knight

Blake Dolman, Krupnick Campbell

Kristin Drecktrah Paz, Shutts & Bowen

Patricia M. Flanagan, Fox Rothschild

Alicia Holden, Wargo French

Alen Hsu, Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman

Adam Kemper, Greenspoon Marder

Erin Kolmansberger, Nelson Mullins 

Javier Lopez, Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton

Lori Lustrin, Bilzin Sumberg

Michal Meiler, Ver Ploeg & Marino

Veronica Meza, GrayRobinson

Rachel Nanes, DLA PIper

Bryan Paschal, Rivero Mestre

Pravin Patel, Weil Gotshal & Manges

Lara Rios, Holland & Knight

Kyle Teal, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney

Jonathan Weiss, Squire Patton Boggs

Julia Wyda, Brinkley Morgan

Reggie Zachariah, Greenberg Traurig

Read more:

Q&A With Distinguished Leaders: Tips, Tricks and Insights

Q&As With DBR's 2019 On the Rise Honorees